KOSPI Continues to Decline... Institutional Selling Pressure Intensifies

[Asia Economy Reporter Junho Hwang] On the afternoon of the 2nd, the KOSPI continued to decline as institutions dumped massive volumes.

As of 1:31 PM that day, the KOSPI was at 2435.46, down 0.68% from the previous session. Although individuals and foreigners showed net buying intentions worth 314.2 billion KRW and 120.1 billion KRW respectively, institutions sold off 434.1 billion KRW worth of stocks, causing the index to fall.

Among all stocks, 705 stocks declined. Most of the top market capitalization stocks also recorded downward trends. In particular, stocks that had risen the previous day such as Samsung Biologics (-1.94%), LG Chem (-1.14%), and Samsung SDI (-1.54%) gave back their gains. Meanwhile, Samsung Electronics and Kia are up 0.65% and 0.75%, respectively.

By sector, the food and beverage industry and transportation equipment industry showed strength. Within the food and beverage sector, stocks like Sempio Foods (6.43%) and Orion (1.64%) stood out with gains.

On the KOSPI, Seongan continued to hit the upper price limit following the previous day but narrowed its gains. Seongan announced that it decided on a third-party allotment capital increase worth 10 billion KRW (16,313,213 shares) for operational fund procurement, with the allottee being Daehotechnoledge. Seongan also decided on another third-party allotment capital increase worth 7 billion KRW for operational funds. The company stated that for achieving management objectives, considering investor intentions, payment ability, and timing, the third-party allottee was decided to be Mr. Sanghee Lee.

The KOSDAQ also maintained a downward trend similar to the KOSPI. It was at 801.00, down 0.82% from the previous session. Only individuals showed net buying intentions worth 170.4 billion KRW. Foreigners and institutions were net sellers of 124.3 billion KRW and 38.1 billion KRW, respectively.

Among all stocks, 1,131 stocks showed declines. Among the top market cap stocks, Alteogen (0.16%), Studio Dragon (2.01%), and EcoPro (0.65%) showed upward trends.

By sector, all sectors except machinery equipment, metals, information devices, and internet sectors recorded declines. Within the machinery equipment sector, Asflo and Yuil Robotics each hit the upper price limit. This appears to reflect expectations following the government's announcement to actively foster the artificial intelligence industry.

Regarding the market that day, Sangyoung Seo, a researcher at Mirae Asset Securities Media Content Division, analyzed, "As the US-China conflict expanded, the Chinese, Hong Kong, and Taiwanese stock markets plunged about 2-3%, causing overall investor sentiment in the stock market to become extremely subdued."

He added, "As the economic slowdown became a reality and the US-China conflict intensified, concerns about a recession expanded, leading to increased preference for safe assets such as US Treasury yields falling, yen strengthening, gold prices rising, international oil prices falling, and stock market declines."